Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Osunder Mar 10, 2015 14:14:35	I was wondering what the legal stipulations are with posting custom D&D 5th Edition Modules on a personal website for people to download for free. The way I'm formatting my current module to avoid possible intellectual property infringement is something like this:   "Any party member who checks under the bed is attacked by the Giant Rat (MM, p. 292)."   That way, I'm just citing a Monster Manual entry instead of putting the Giant Rat stats out there. But this also makes me wonder about including custom character stats. My current format for a dwarf ship captain NPC will have him listed like this:   CAPTAIN TOMMIK: Dwarf, LG, MV 25, AC 11, HP 8; S 12, D 10, C 14, I 12, W 12, Ch 10 (dagger +3/1d4+1), sleight of hand +5; gear–dagger, common clothes, herbalism kit, 40gp.   So yeah. After hearing about the recent 5th edition character generators getting shut down by WotC, it's got me second guessing making these 5th edition modules and just doing them as Pathfinder ones because of OGL goodness. Do any of you know if WotC actively lets people upload custom modules?
#2 Farmer42 Mar 10, 2015 14:36:37	As far as I know, and I am not a lawyer, so long as you only reference, you are fine.  You can't reproduce the images, and some of the D&D specific monsters and races might be iffy.  But I also don't think they'll come after you for publishing a free module that still requires their books.  It's generally only been things that reproduce material from the rule books that they've kiboshed.
#3 BoldItalic Mar 10, 2015 14:48:42	If you are publishing on your own website for free, you can use the WotC Fan Site Kit and, to a limited extent, that tells you what you can and can't do.
#4 Gnarl Mar 10, 2015 15:10:50	I always assumed WoTC didn't bother with fan websites as long as they're free. Candlekeep has been up for 15 years. You also have the Mimir for Planescape that has been up for even longer. Those are just two of the biggest ones. Frog God games, Necromancer games, and ENWorld now are all publishing 5e stuff and they don't seem to be having any problems and they make money off of D&D! They're careful though. There's even a guy that is selling D&D stuff on DriveThru and RPGNet and explicitely says it's a Dungeons and Dragons adventure. Just leave a contact us link so that WoTC can contact you if they're not happy about what you're doing.
(Reply to #4) Osunder	Gnarl wrote:
(Reply to #4) Ranthalan	Gnarl wrote:
(Reply to #6) Farmer42	Ranthalan wrote:
(Reply to #7) Osunder	Farmer42 wrote:
#9 Farmer42 Mar 11, 2015 13:19:47	Yup.  That should cover you, particularly as noncommercial fan work.  You can probably get away with a disclaimer at the front saying all creatures and items perform per their entried in the Player's handbook, Monster Manual, or Dungeon Master's Guide and not even need to cite pages and books.  That way it explicitely requires the sourcebooks.
(Reply to #8) AaronOfBarbaria	Osunder wrote:
#11 Farmer42 Mar 11, 2015 13:24:39	Probably won't be a big deal.  THey've only really gone after commercial uses and those that directly copied material out of the core rules.  Targeting free stuff someone has on their own webpage that doesn't reproduce any of their material and only references their tradmarks is questionable to begin with.  It comes dangrously close to threatening fair use, and WotC typically leaves that kind of fan thing alone.
(Reply to #10) The_White_Sorcerer	AaronOfBarbaria wrote:
#13 Gnarl Mar 11, 2015 18:28:32	Ranthalan wrote:
(Reply to #12) AaronOfBarbaria	The_White_Sorcerer wrote:
#15 CCS Mar 11, 2015 19:16:16	Am I the only person who won't be at all surprised when WoTC does come after the OPs' PDFs - you know, considering that he's talking about how to use their stuff on their own forums?
#16 Farmer42 Mar 11, 2015 19:16:40	Yeah, but referencing trademarks doesn't violate them.  That's where trademarks get hairy.  If that were the case, every time someone used the word "beholder" they'd have to issue CD's.  In fact, you wouldn't be able to mention Dungeons & Dragons or D&D.  There is a ton of fan made content out there already on people's websites.  Even on the major RPG websites.  The ONLY things that Wizards has gone after either used mechanics and descriptions out of the books or art assets.  Like I said, I'd use it and put contact information.  No one has been lawyering up, and if it becomes an issue that you're providing something that specifically requires their product, they'll politely let you know.
(Reply to #13) Ranthalan	Gnarl wrote:
#18 BoldItalic Mar 12, 2015 12:19:55	Ranthalan wrote:
#19 Castillo_de_Santiago Mar 14, 2015 15:26:38	AaronOfBarbaria wrote:
#20 Slit518 Mar 15, 2015 12:03:25	Osunder wrote:
(Reply to #20) AaronOfBarbaria	Slit518 wrote: